Hat crown pouncing machine construction



March 28; 1944. B, D, WELLS 2,345,369

HAT CROWN POUNCING MACHINE CONSTRUCTION Filed May 7, 1943 s Sheets-Shea.1

0 65 3/ uy 54 27 l-nnmg 55' 25 INVENTOR r v Gaza/v6 0 WELLS.

MMMWW ATTORNEY March 28, 1944. D. WELLS 2,345,369

HAT CROWN POUNCING MACHINE CONSTRUCTION Filed May '7. 1943 3Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTOR Y March 28, 1944. a. D. WELLS HAT CROWN POUNCINGMACHINE CONSTRUCTION s Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May '7, 1943 w w a m M E CONTEQL 557-427 a 570 Patented Mar. 28, 1944 HAT CROWN PoUNc IN'G MACHINECONSTRUCTION Bur-ling D. Wells, Danbury, Gonn., assignor to The MalloryHat Company, .IDanbui-y, Conn, a corporation of Connecticut ApplicationMay 7,, 1943, Serial'No. 485,987

Claims. (01. 223--20) This invention relates to apparatus for operatingupon fur felt hat bodiesand more particularly to an apparatus forpouncing the crowns of hat bodies.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide an improved crownpouncing apparatus that will be capable of achieving reliable and moreefllcient relative traverse between the rotating hat crown and theoperating tool and that will do so with simple, positive and inexpensivemechanism. Another object is to provide in a hatworking machine animproved mechanism for efiecting and controlling the relative traversebetween the hat crown and the operating tool'and, more particularly,where the tool is of substan tial dimension, such as a pouncing pad, toprovide for the dependable control of the orientation of thetoolrelative to all of the successive portions of the h'at crown which it isto engage during relative traverse between it and the crown.

Another object is to improve the construction, operation and-performanceof hat-working machines, such as crown pouncing machines, of the type inwhich the operating tool, such as a pouncing pad, is traversed from theband portion of the hat, then the side, then the square and finally tothe tip of the hat, or vice versa, during rotation of the hat'crownabout its own axis. More particularly, another object is to provide, inapparatus offth'e just-mentioned character, a simplified and dependablemechanism for ,efieciting' traverse of the tool and for positivelyorientin'g'the tool for proper engagement with whatever portion of thehat'crown that it happens to engage in the course of its traverse.

Other objects will be in part obvious or in part pointed outhereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the fea-. tures of construction,combinations of elements, and arrangements of parts as will beexemplified in the structure to be hereinafter described and the scOpeofthe application of which will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which is shownone of the various possibleembodiments of my invention, I

'Figure 1 is a front elevation of theapparatu's;

Figure 2 is a plan view;

Figure 3 is a side elevation as seen from the right in Figure l, certainparts being shown in central' vertical,section and certain otherpartsbeingindicate'd di'agranrimatically.

Simi1ar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout theseveral views of the .draw,

ings.

As conducive to a clearer understanding of certain features of myinvention, it may at this point be noted that crown pouncirig machinesas heretofore produced and made'available, such as the type of pouncingmachine described in Cass, U. .8. Patent No. 2,006,260, issued June 25,1935, in which the oval-cross-sectioned hat crown is ro-. tated about ahorizontal axis and in which the pouncing tool,.by 'its'elfof anysuitable character or driven in any suitable way, is traversed from theband portion of the hat to the tip, or vice versa,.by causing its entiremounting to be swung aboutaivertical axis, various ,difiiculties inconstruction, operation and performance are encountered and among thesea principal difliculty orobjectionis the'manner in which contactrelationship between the pouncing pad and the hat body are attemptedtobeeflected 'or maintained throughout the varying conditions met withthroughout the path of traverse of the tool.

The hat crown can have various peculiarities of shape; thus its sideportions are not always necessarilyparallel to the axis and morefrequently (though oval in cross-section) are frusto-conical. Thesemerge into the top of the hat in a region called the square which isusually a. curve, but the 'radiusof curvature is widely variable.Sometimes it is of small radius and sometimes it is of large radius.

The top of the hat, called the tip, likewise is not necessarily alwaysflat or plane, but can'be outwardly convex and this can be further.complicated'by the fact that the top is not circular in area, but isusually oval.

.The fact that the hat crown is oval can be counteracted or compensatedfor by any suitable or known form .of mechanism which acts, during therotation of the hat block to which the .hat crown issnugly fitted toshift the actual axis of the hat crown so that the portions of the crownalong the line or path of traverse of the tool and which are thuspresented to the tool to be operated uponare always at the same radialdistance from the actual axis of rotation .of the hat body, and by suchmeans also substantial uniformity of pressure of) engagement of thetools against the hat crown can be maintainedduring the operation. Alsovarious expedients may beemployed to achieve substantial uniformity ofsurface speed'of I rotary 'novem'entof, the hat crown.

In spite of such compensating, factors, the various expedientsheretofore employed in the endeavor to maintain "flatness or 'tan gencyof engagement of the traversing pouncing tool with all portionsot thehat crown with which it moves.

into engagement during its traverse, still do not result in uniformityof action or in dependability and uniformity of engagement and thedetrimental character of these and the above-mentioned difficulties canbe judged when it is considered that the pouncing tool is an abrasivetool and frequently operates .at high, velocity and, therefore, can,cut'relatively deeply yand fast if its operative area is not orientedproperly to the peculiar shape of the hat crown.

Various expedients have heretofore been ator cushion-like element l1,made of a material like relatively soft rubber for example, and over theface of the element I! extends a sheet I8 of suitable pouncing material,such as the usual or well known fine grade of sandpaper. For convenienceof reference, the tool is designated by the reference character P andwillhereafter be so referred to. r

The hat body 20 mounted upon the block l4, illustratively oval asappears from Figure 1, may

have a brim B and for convenience of reference tempted to achieve suchorientation. In" their into the tip T by way of the square S. With theabove-mentioned Cass patent, a complicated train of driving mechanismisprovided'in the endeavor to maintain orientation of the tool relativeto the hat body, but the path which it enforces upon the traversing padis essentially in the form of a square with curved corners andcurvilinear convex sides as shown in Figure 2 of the patent, whereas theshape of the hat crown is essentially that of a frustrum of a cone witha rounded top and oblate, with the result that, particularly in the bandportions of the hat crown, that is, where the crown joins the brim,thepad has one vertical edge portion thereof forced against the hat bodywith greater pressure than other portions of the pad. Other expedientshave included spring action with or without a floating type of mountingfor the pad in the effort to obtain 'somedegree of self orientation; 7

pm of the dominant aims of this invention is to avoid suchfdeflciencies,complications and shortcomings as here inherent in prior expedients andto provide dependability and positiveness of both actuation of relativetraversing movement and- 'orientationof the pad or tool throughoutthevarying conditions, angularities, curvatures and other shapes metwith during the relative traversingmovement between tool and hat crown.

(Referring first toFigure 3, the apparatus may comprise", a box-likebase l0 having upstanding therefrom at one end a hollow standard II inthe uppe'r end of which is supported for rotation about a generallyhorizontal axis "a chuck I2; controllable as by handles 13, forreleasablyengaging and supporting a hat block i 4 upon which thejcrown'of the hat body issnugly fitted. Any suitable'jmeananot shown, may beemployed to rotate the "chuck and hat block at the desired relativelylowv rate of speed. 7, .Where the hat crown and hence the hat blockareoval in cross-section, the mounting: and driving'mechanism for thechuck l2 may comprise any suitablemechanism like that earlier abovementioned for shifting the actual axis of the oval hatblock during itsrotary movement and, if desired, also forvarying the rate of driveduring each revolution to. achieve substantial constancy of surfacespeed of the portions of'the oval hat body with which the tool engagesduringflits traverse.

its crown C has a side portion E which merges tool suitably actuated ordriven and the hat body slowly rotated, a relative traversing -1movement between tool P and crown C is to be effected and insofar as thefeatures of my insquare S to the center of the tip 'I, then reversethrough the square S and cover the side E to the brim B.

In the illustrative embodiment, the tool P and the chuck l2 are mountedand related to each i other to provide an axis at right angles to theAny such mounting 'anddriving means for the chuck I2 is convenientlymounted and housed within the upper endoffthe standard I I j and since'itis well knownit is not descrlbedor shown in detail and, by" way ofillustration, it may comprise mechanism or the kind'or'type disclosed'inthe above-mentioned Cass patent.

axis of rotation of the chuck and preferably intersecting that axis andabout which this relative traversing movement may take place. Thus, inthe top plate H! of the base portion 10, I provide an aperture 22 ofsuitable size into which is set a cylindrical casing 23 having acylindrical side Wall 24 flanged as at 25 to rest upon the top wall It]of the base I0 and by Which it is rigidly secured tothe base In manysuitable way as by screws or bolts not shown. The upper and inside facesof the cylindrical wall 24 are machined to provide a bearing for acircular carrier plate 21. having a depending annular flange 28 thatfits into the upper end of the cylindrical wall 24, thus giving thecarrier plate 21 a good mounting for rotary movement about a verticalaxis, somewhat in the manner of a turntable; Any suitable means may beused to hold the carrier 21 rotatably assembled to the casing 23, suchas a stud bolt 29 suitably shouldered and provided with a nut 29 at itslower end to mount it securely in the bottom wall 23*" of the casing 23and suitably shouldered and provided with a nut 29 at its other end topermit thecarrie'r 21 to rotate about the stud bolt 29 whose axis ofcourse is coincident with'the center of the. carrierfZ'l.

The axis of rotatable carrier 21, indicated at Y, is vertical andintersects the horiaontalfaxis X of the chuck [2 preferably at a pointsubstantially midway between the tip T andithe brim B of the hat bodyand upon the carrierfZl there is provided a mounting and drive for thetool? so constructed that the tool P may pivot about a vertical axisradially displaced from'the axis of rotary carrier 21.

A convenient form of such mounting anddrlve may comprise a frame 30having'a suitable base 3| that rests upon the carrier 21 and pivots, aslater described, about a vertical axis radially displaced from the axisof carrier 21. Upstanding from the base 3| are two spaced arms 33-34 in.

the ends of which are suitable bearings aligned along a horizontal axisto receive 'trunnions 3-5 and 36, respectively, of a tool carrier framegenerally indicated by the reference character 31. i ool carrier frame31 comprises a lower housing portion 31 to the right-hand end of which,as seen in Figure 3, issecured the frame of an electric-motor 38 whosehorizontal shaft extends into the housing portion '31 where it' is p idewith, or drives, a crank or eccentric-indicated-at 39 that is connectedwith a preferably lightweight or tubular rod that extends upwardlythrough an upward hollow extension 31* of the housing and that carriesat its end-the tool P.

With the motor 38 driven at a suitable speed, preferably relativelyhigh, the tool P is thus rap idly reciprocated and by providing auniversally mounted sliding bearing 4| in" the upper end of the housingpart 31 for the drive rod, the pad P, during its general reciprocationand-for each complete cycle, is given a movement in a closed curvedpath. Details of this drive and mounting for the pad P may follow theconstruction described in the'above-mentioned Cass patent- The tool P isbiased clockwise in Figure 3 and hence toward and againstthe'rotatinghat body by any suitable means, preferably bythe unbalance brought aboutprincipally bythe location of the motor 38 with respect to thehorizontal axis of the trunnions 3535 and'variation orchange in thepressure with which the tool P is pressed against the hat crown may beeffected in any suitable way as, for example, by a shiftablecounterweight 43 slidably carried on a rod 44 project-'- ing from thehousing 31 to the other side of the horizontal axis of trunnions 35-36.Any suitable -m'eans may be employed'to connect the frame 30 to thecarrier 21 so that it may pivot about a vertical axis radially displacedfrom the vertical axis of rotationofcarrier 21 and, by way ofillustration, carrier 21 mayhave projecting upwardly from it and rigidlysecuredto it, as by aforce' fit, a stud bolt '48 that extends through asuitable hole 31 in the base 31 of frame 30, a suitable washer and nut49 threaded onto a lesser-diametered end portion of the stud" 48 servingto hold the frame 3| and carrier; 21

assembled while permitting freedom of pivoting of the frame 30 relativeto thecarrier 21. .Stud

48 thus forms the vertical. axis, indicated at Z,

of pivoting for the tool P and this axis is i'n'substantial alignmentwith the central vertical axis of the casing part3! and hence issubstantially in the plane. of the operative face of the pad P, when thelatter assumes a substantially vertical position relative to thehorizontalaxis of the trunnions 3536. The radial displacement of thevertical axis Z of the stud 48 from the'vertical axis Y of the carrier21 is on the order of about the horizontal distance from the axis Y of.carrier 21 to the tip T of the hat body held on the block in the chuckl2, these relationships.

order of. those wardly from arm'50 and into the am slot 54 (Figure 2) ofahorizontal cam plate 55 that-is secured to the base H] of theap-paratusas by a screw 56' and a bracket 51. a

The general relationship of the camslot 54 78" 'theaxis Z. I V W Whenthe carrier '27 is reversed in its rotary and of the arm'fill to theseveral axes X, Y and Z above described is substantially like thatbetter shown in Figure 2 in which the tool P is shown engaging the sideportion E of the crown C adjacent the brim B, being at substantiallythe:

beginning of its two-stroke cycle of movement. At this point, thepositive relationship mechanically between the parts insures that theframe 30 is so positioned about axis Z that the relatively fiat faceof'th'e tool P, while tangent to the frusto-conical surface of the hatbody, engages the latter in coincidence with the geometrical element therotation of which generates the side E of the hatbody and thus insuresthat the expanse of the tool P, during its reciprocation 'or itsmovement in a closed path, engages the hat body with uniform pressurethroughout.

This is the point at which the tool P is brought into engagement withthe hat body or is disengaged therefrom, at the respective start andstop-- ping of the operation, as by corresponding control of. the toolcarrier frame 31, manually or otherwise, albout the horizontal axis ofthe trunnions 35'-36. J

Beginning at that point, carrier 2'! rotates clockwise as'viewed inFigure 2, by any suitable drive an illustration of which is set forthhereinafter, and rotating 'slowly'about its axis Y, the frame sfi-withthe tool carrier frame 31 partakes of motion oftranslation in clockwisedirection along an are indicated at R in Figure 2. This arcuate path oftravel is in general such as to move the tool P from the side E- of theI crown C, over the square S, and to the tip T, and

as this movement takes place, cam following roller 5'2 traverses alongthe cam slot 54 and by the shape of the latter causes the frame 30 andhence the tool P to pivot about axis Z in a manner always to keeptheopei'ative face of the tool P fiat against or tangent to, as the'casemight be, the just-mentioned successive portions of the hat crown. Thistakes place totlie accompaniment of actual motion of translation of theaxis Z along the are R and hence the cam slot 54 has the somewhatpeculiar shape indicated in FigureZ, being of considerable length ascompared to the axial length of the hat crown which the tool P itselftraverses;

By the time tool P reaches the tip T of the crown, at which position,shown in Figures 1 and 3, the plane of its operative face issubstantially at rightangles to the axis x of the hat body, the toolcarrier frame has been moved 'along the are R by an amount on the orderof and cam roller 52 is at the upper left-hand end of cam slot 5-4(Figure 2), thus fixing the swinging of the tool P about axis Z so'thatits operative face is at substantially 90 to the hat crown axis X.

It will 'be noted-that in this clockwise movement of translation alongthe are R of the tool carrier frames and hence of the tool P, thepositive'cam controlof the angle of the plane of the tool P to the crownaxis of rotation-X takes place' with ease and certainty, the arm 50 thatcarries the cam roller'52 'beingdisposed at an angle to the plane of thetool P such that the cam roller 5|] is in effect pulled along the camslot 54, the long leverage of the arm 50 making for greater;

easeof shift ofthe tool carrier frames about movement, thus to traversethe tool P fromthe tip 'I 'over': thesquare S and over the side E uptothe bri'm B, the cammin'gactionis reversed, the cam roller 52 beingpushed in advance of the tool carrier frames (instead of trailing, asduring the first stroke), and this action takes place with nicety,smoothness and positiveness, the long leverage insuring ease of shift of.the parts about the axis Z and hence ease of following movement of thecam roller 52 in the cam slot.

Reaching the end of this reverse stroke, the pad P again finds itselfproperly and uniformly aligned with and'engagingthe side of the crown.and hence removal of the tool P from the hat body takes place withoutdetrimental action.

With such cam control, any simple and suitable form of drive for therotary carrier 21 to swing it slowly about its vertical axis may beemployed, and her I may use simple gearing. Thus, for example, I mayprovide the inner face of cylindrical wall 24 of the casing 23 withteeth to form an internal gear 59 with which meshes a spur gear 60rotatably, carried by the stud 48 that is fixedly secured in dependingrelation to the carrier 21 as above described. Meshing with gear 60 is agear 6| which is mounted co-axially, with the internal gear 59 and thecarrier 21, conveniently upon the above-mentioned stud-like bolt 29which holds carrier 21 rotatably assembled to the casing 23.

Gear 6| is, in turn, driven by a gear 62 provided with suitable drivingconnections to a main drive shaft 63 accommodated within thehollowstandard I l and provided with'suitable start and. stop and reversingmechanism and controls therefor, the details of which can take anysuitable form such as described in the Cass patent and hence these arediagrammatically indicated at. 64.

Accordingly, with main drive shaft 53 driven and controlled as justdescribed, th carrier 21. is given rotary movement about axis Ythroughjust about 90 to move frame 30 along are R and to an extent to traversethe pad P from the tip T to, the brim B or from the brim B to the tip T,the controls being preferably such that, as above indicated, the tool Pis given two strokes of movement, namely, from the brim B, over the sideportion E, the square S, the tip T (that being one stroke) and then fromthe tip T over the square S and over the side portion E to the brim B(this being the other stroke and being preferably a reversal of thefirst one) r If desired, speed-varying mechanism may be included in thisdrive to vary the rate of mo tion of translation along the are R ofFigure 2 and hence to alter the rate of tool traverserelae tive to thehatcrown according to th portions of the crown that are engaged by thetool P. Thus it may be desirable to speed up the traversing movement ofthe tool P during its pas-. sage over the square S. Such speed-varying,mechanism may take any suitable form and may, for example, be interposedbetweenthe main drive shaft 63 (Figure 3) and the gear;62, and it may,

take theform of mechanisms so interposed in this drive in theabove-mentioned Cass patent. Thus main drive shaft Gamay have a driving7 gear 65 todrive a gear 66 rotatably mounted of gear 66 and of shaft 68are eccentric, the

speed variation being achieved by a pin, roller, or stud '10 carried bythe gear 66 and riding in;

a slot H of an arm 12 secured to the shaft 68 with the gear 66 driven ata uniform speed, the

speed of drive of shaft 68 andhenceof gear 62 becomes non-uniform andvaried because the eccentric relationship of the parts effects change inangularvelocity of, shaft 68 as the radial distance of the pinor stud 10changes during each revolution relative to-the axis of shaft 68. Theother gears 'areproportioned so that the swin of carrier 2,! about itsaxis Y to give the tool? one stroke of traversing movement correspondsto a single revolutlonof the gear 66, r

Other features'of control, such as change in speed of reciprocatingdrive of the pad P, change in the pressure of the pad P against the hatbody, and the like, may also be embodied in the apparatus andthecorresponding mechanism may take forms such as those described in theCass patent. V Referring again'to Figure .2, it may be noted thatthe camplate 55 with its cam slot 54 can suffice for a substantialrange ofchange of sizes and general configuration or shapes of hat crown C tobeoperated-upon by the apparatus, the capacity of the tool P to pivotabout the horizontal axis of the trunnions 35-36 giving it wideadaptability of self-accommodation or adjustment in directions towardoraway from the hat crown at anypoint in its stroke of traversingmovement. Risk of marring or damaging the hat body, present inheretofore known constructions'a above noted, is minimized and for thatmatter, no matter at which point in the stroke of the relative traversebetween tool and hat body that the two are separated or broughttogether, disengagement and engagement alwaysfinds the angularrelationship between the face of the tool P and the a axis of rotation-of;,the.crown C dependably determined so thatcutting of the hatbody byan edge of the tool is guarded against.

It will thus be seen that there has been pro-. vided in this inventionan apparatus in which the various objects above mentioned together withmanythoroughlypractical advantages are successfully' achieved. V

As many possible embodiments may be made of the mechanical features ofthe above invention rotatablecarrier having means mounting it for rotarymovement about a vertical axis, a frame having means for supporting saidtool and'for biasing it toward and against thecrown of the hat body;means mounting said frame on said carrier for pivotal movement relativethereto about a vertical'axis displaced from the axis of said car-'1rier, cam and cam follower means for pivoting said frame and hence saidtool about said second vertical axis and operating in response to rotarymovement of said carrier about said first verticalaxis to change the.planeflof the tool as the-lattertraverses the side, square, and tip ofthe crown,

between said cam and cam-follower means.

2. ,An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said cam and camfollower means comprises a.

relatively-fixed cam, plate having a cam groove of and driving means forsaid carrier to effect motion of translation of said frame and to effectcoaction' substantial length as compared with the length of the actualpath of traverse of said tool relative to the hat crown, and an armextending from said frame and carrying the cam follower, said followerriding in said cam groove.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which the driving means forsaid carrier is reversible to effect traversing movement of the toolrelative to the hat crown in successive strokes with a reversal ofdirection of movement at the end of each stroke, said cam and camfollower means comprising a relatively fixed cam having a cam groovethat is relatively long compared to the length of the traverse stroke ofthe tool, said frame having an arm of substantial length and supportingthe cam follower at its end at a point such that a vertical planeextending through the cam follower and the midpoint of the face of thepad makes an acute angle with the pad face.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said cam and cam followermeans comprises a relatively stationary cam, and means mounting the camfollower onto said frame at a point such that a vertical plane passingthrough the cam follower and said second vertical axis makes an acuteangle with the plane of the face of the tool.

5. In an apparatus for operating upon the crown of a hat body, thecombination which comprises a mounting for rotating and supporting thehat body, a tool presenting a substantially flat operative face foroperating upon the crown and having a mounting therefor and means forbiasing it against and toward the crown of the hat body, and means foreffecting relative traversing movement between the tool and the rotatinghat body so that the tool operates upon the side, the square, and thetip of the crown, said means comprising a carrier for one of saidmountings, said carrier having means supporting it to swing about anaxis at right angles to the axis of the hat crown, means pivotallysupporting said one mounting upon said carrier to swing about an axisparallel to said carrier axis, means for driving said carrier insuccessively reversed rotary strokes to effect relative traverse fromthe brim over the square to the tip of the crown or vice .versa, and camand cam follower means responsive to the motion of translation of saidone mounting caused by the rotary strokes of said carrier and operatingthroughout the range of said motion of translation to shift said onemounting about the axis of its support upon said carrier and therebychange the angle between the face of said tool and the axis of said hatcrown, said cam having a configuration that is a function of the shapeof said crown and a function of the spacing between said two parallelaxes.

BURLING D. WELLS.

